Magic Touch: Wizard for Hire Review

Prepare to become addicted to yet another simple mobile game for iOS (iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch) and Android. Magic Touch: Wizard for Hire fits into the genre of endless survival in a way, and is very unique in many other ways. This arcade game from Nitrome succeeds in its simple but stylish pixelated graphics, enticing gameplay based on beating high scores, and a lack of free-to-play gimmicks that many other free mobile games suffer from.

The player takes control of a mighty wizard who is actively defending a castle from invading warriors. Soldiers of varying shape and size drop down from the sky floating via balloons attached to their backs. Each balloon has a different simple shape or line on it. The player is tasked with drawing this shape onto the screen in order to cast a spell and drop these enemies from the sky. While this may sounds fairly easy the shapes become increasingly difficult, more and more enemies begin falling at once, and enemies begin to carry more than 1 balloon, I have even seen 5 attached to 1 warrior! This system tests your reflexes, prioritization and handwriting. The only complaint with this system that I’d have is that on occasion the shape recognition system can be over-forgiving, but this is rare and far from a serious issue. It is furthered by its simple but undeniably cute pixelated graphics style.

Like many other iPhone, iPad, and Android games, the goal of Magic Touch: Wizard for Hire is to simply survive and gather up as many points as possible. Like Flappy Bird, Temple Run and many other before it, Magic Touch works, and it works well. The prospect of earning a new high score is addicting, especially when most of the failures seem avoidable as gameplay is based more on skill than chance. The longevity of the game is improved by the simple shop, a place where players can use coins that they have racked up to purchase in-game consumables and upgrades. Magic Touch: Wizard for Hire would benefit from an additional game mode or difficulty, but it is not hurt by a lack of this and compares well to other games with a single mode.

Players can purchase in-game currency with real money, but this is in no way necessary. The only negative aspect of the shop is a lack of description for each item aside from a simple picture, which can be confusing at times. The only other place where the free-to-play aspect of the game comes out is in the advertisements, but these are only after you lose which can take a while.

Magic Touch: Wizard for Hire is a must have for any players who appreciate simple and addicting games. There’s interesting gameplay, few annoyances and nice graphics to look at, what’s not to love!

Bottom Line

Graphics

Gameplay

Controls

Presentation

Replay Value

Summary: Magic Touch: Wizard for Hire is a must-have for its fast-paced and fun gameplay. This arcade game from Nitrome is engaging right from the start. The mechanics are simple and the controls are easy. I would highly recommend downloading Magic Touch on your iOS (iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch) and Android devices.